Hey I did 26 miles today as well! I had an injury in July that severely changed my riding routine, so this was a very painful ride. Luckily the weather cooperated, and it was mostly dry. What was the temperature in Tempe today?

At least the weather is cooperating. No excuse but to go out and ride. When I got back onto a bike after decades off, that first ride was under 10 miles. I passed out after struggling to get back home.
So don't feel bad. Just keep at it and you'll see improvement.

“You meet the nicest people on two wheels!"
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." ~Albert Einstein

It's 30 degrees right now but no wind (doesn't happen much) so I'm in contemplation mode - indoor trainer or out on the road. It's the work to get myself motivated to bundle up and ride in those temperatures that make it hard vs. indoor with Netflix and instant play.

Consider your self lucky that you're only out of shape. I had a back injury in 2003 that limits my riding to 15 minute sessions. I used to ride 15,000 km during our 8 month riding season. The wife says I still let out a just audible sigh, every time a bicycle goes by.

Consider your self lucky that you're only out of shape. I had a back injury in 2003 that limits my riding to 15 minute sessions. I used to ride 15,000 km during our 8 month riding season. The wife says I still let out a just audible sigh, every time a bicycle goes by.

At 51 years old, I do consider myself VERY lucky to "only be out of shape"! I do have some back pain, but the more I ride, the better that gets. My knees are a bit creaky on the long, hard climbs.

Rode 10 on Saturday and 11 on Monday. I'm in the out-of-shape mode as well. Legs felt good but the lungs were not happy. Saturday was the first time back in the saddle after being hit by a car while riding to work in mid-October. It felt really good to be riding. And I was really pleased that mixing it up with traffic didn't bother me. That was one thing I was apprehensive about but had no problem crossing 2 lanes of 45+ MPH traffic to get to the #2 left turn lane. FREEDOM!

Planning to get a trainer at some point this winter (holiday costs being higher than expected put that on hold for the moment), so hopefully I can get that feeling out of the way when I'm bored and indoors feeling the pain from being on a trainer. Too much of a wuss to do a lot of outdoor riding in the winter.

Punctuation is important. It's the difference between "I helped my uncle, Jack, off a horse" and "I helped my uncle Jack off a horse"

I wouldn't say I'm out of shape right now. I have a lot of power and endurance, but something about my bike is really beating me (my saddle area) up and I can't figure out what. I keep feeling like every ride bruises my business. It's been this way ever since I broke my seat post a few months ago. At that time, I was completely comfortable, now, I feel like I spent 2hrs sitting on a jackhammer after every ride. So, while I may not be out of shape, something about my bike is.

"Winning is the best deodorant. Someone can look at your bike and say it stinks, but if you win with it, suddenly it's okay." - Jim Busby